1. Chapter 2– Theories of Development
The Developing Person Through the Life Span 8e by Kathleen Stassen Berger
Chapter 2– Theories of Development

2. What Theories Do Theory An orderly, integrated set of statements that
Describes
Explains
Predicts
Developmental Theory
provides a framework for understanding how and why people change as they grow older.
Example: Infant-caregiver attachment theories
Describe the behavior of babies age 6-8 months as they seek affection/comfort from familiar adults
Explain how and why babies develop this desire to bond with caregivers
Predict the consequences of this bond on future relationships
Provide organizing frameworks for our observations
Guiding and give meaning to what we see and observe
Must have scientific verification to remain valid
We have a theory and research to test it – if it turns out we are right we can use it to guide what we do
Theories have to be tested using research procedures agreed upon by the scientific community and the findings must be replicated/repeated over time

3. Grand Theories
Includes Psychoanalytic, Behavioral, and Cognitive theories.
All three are comprehensive,
enduring, and widely applied.

4. Psychoanalytic Theory
A theory of human development that holds that irrational, unconscious drives and motives, often originating in childhood, underlie human behavior.
Psychoanalytic theory originated with Sigmund Freud (1856– 1939)

5. Psychoanalytic Theory
Erik Erikson (1902–1994)
Described eight developmental stages, each characterized by a challenging developmental
crisis.
His first five stages build on Freud’s theory; but he also described three adult stages.

6. Psychoanalytic Theory

7. Behaviorism
A theory of human development that studies observable behavior.
Also called learning theory as it describes the laws and processes by which behavior is learned.
Classical Conditioning
Stimulus – Response
Operant Conditioning
Reinforcers and Punishments
Social Learning
Modeling

8. Classical Conditioning
Behaviorism
Classical Conditioning
Ivan Pavlov ( )
Dogs & salivation
John Watson (1920s)
Little Albert
A person or animal learns to associate a neutral stimulus with a meaningful stimulus
Gradually reacting to the neutral stimulus with the same response as to the meaningful one.

9. Behaviorism B.F. Skinner (1904–1990)
Operant Conditioning
B.F. Skinner (1904–1990)
A particular action is followed either by something desired or by something unwanted.
Frequency of a behavior can be increased or decreased by reinforcers or punishments

10. Operant Conditioning Reinforcement Punishment
Increasing the probability of a response
(Food - A pat on the back - An “A” - A sticker)
Punishment
Decreasing the probability of a response
(Being grounded – A spanking – No dessert)

11. Social Learning Theory
Behaviorism
Social Learning Theory
Albert Bandura (b. 1925)
Emphasizes the influence that other people have over a person’s behavior.
Modeling- people learn by observing other people and then copying them.
Self-efficacy- how effective people think they are when it comes to changing themselves or altering their social context.

12. Cognitive Theory Thoughts and expectations profoundly affect action.
Focuses on changes in how people think over time.
Jean Piaget (1896–1980)
Cognitive-Developmental Theory

13. Cognitive Theory

14. Cognitive Theory
Adaptation – creating new ideas (schemes)through direct interaction with the environment
Two types of cognitive adaptation:
Assimilation - new experiences are interpreted to fit into, or assimilate with, old ideas
Accommodation - old ideas are restructured to include, or accommodate, new experiences

15. Cognitive Equilibrium
Cognitive Theory
Cognitive Equilibrium
A state of mental balance, no confusion
Interpret new ideas through past ideas
Needed for intellectual advancement
If new experience is not understandable,
cognitive disequilibrium can occur

16. Information Processing
Cognitive Theory
Information Processing
Not a single theory but a framework
Inspired by how a computer works
How people think before they respond

17. Newer Theories Sociocultural Theory Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934)
Development results from a person’s interaction with their social and cultural surroundings
Culture is integral to development
Cooperative dialogues are necessary

18. Sociocultural Theory Zone of proximal development
Made up of the skills, knowledge, and concepts that the learner is close to acquiring
Learner needs help to master
Learning must be individualized

19. The Universal Perspective
Humanism
Abraham Maslow ( )
Carl Rogers ( )
Stresses the potential of humans for good
All people have the same needs
Emphasize what people have in common

20. The Universal Perspective
Evolutionary Theory
Based on Darwin’s ideas
Natural Selection
Survival of the Fittest
Very controversial in psychological circles
Humans are more alike than different
Human development influenced by drives to survive and reproduce

21. What Theories Contribute
Eclectic perspective
The approach taken by most developmentalists
Aspects of each of the various theories of development are applied rather than adhering exclusively to one

22. What Theories Contribute